The Detroit Red Wings don't expect to have the services of forward Todd Bertuzzi for game one of their Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup with the Calgary Flames.

Bertuzzi did not practice on Wednesday and has not been on the ice since leaving last Thursday's matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks after two first period collisions left him with a concussion.

"I don't think he has any chance of playing tomorrow," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. "I would say he is day to day. If he's feeling better, I guess there's always a chance. But I would say we think he'll have an opportunity to play on Sunday."

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Kicking this off a day early with the news that Todd Bertuzzi is not expected to play in the first game of the playoffs. I'd say the Wings are deep enough that they don't need to rush him back but his size was expected to cancel out some of Calgary's big defense. Mikael Samuelsson and Valtteri Filppula won't do that.

Hope the Bertuzzi situation is only precautionary, and not connected with a more serious concern. I do believe the Wings are deeper than the Flame. Looking at their respective team stats, Calgary seems to be much more physical than the Wings. An indicator of this is penalty minutes. Calgary is in the box more than the Wings. Hopefully, the Wings can capitalize on this, however, a problem all season has been the Wing's power play. Also, the Wings are a puck possession team, taking a lot of shots at the net. I don't think this is going to work against Calgary,, however. Most teams have been able to tie-up the Wing offense with an aggressive trap, and the Flames know this. Bottom line the Wings are going to have to play more physical against the Flames or I'm afraid its going to be another upset. A big piece of this type of game is Bertuzzi, and with him not 100% I have some concerns. We really didn't see him play alot yet.

The Wings will need to play the defensive style of game they played at the start of the season and against Anaheim a couple weeks ago to get through this one, I think.

I'm not sure how they can do it but I think it's really key for Detroit to get the first two wins. The way Calgary played at home this season, the Wings need to take care of things at the Joe and have the advantage going into the Saddledome.

Scouting report: Even without Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings haven't missed a beat in their competitiveness. The team played some of its best hockey in the final stretch, led by one of the league's highest-scoring blueline squads. Nicklas Lidstrom makes all the big and little plays necessary to keep the Wings strong at puck control, while Mathieu Schneider enjoyed his fourth straight season of 45 or more points. Chris Chelios seems to get better as he gets older, leading a more than stable corps that includes Danny Markov, Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja. With a strong blueline contributing offence and limiting scoring chances, it's no wonder that Dominik Hasek's numbers have been so good this season. But when the pressure's on, the Dominator can still make that game-saving stop. If Hasek is out for any reason, Chris Osgood, who backstopped Detroit to a Cup in 1998, can fill in without missing a beat. If you can find one Achilles Heel with the Wings, it might be up front. Henrik Zetterberg missed most of the stretch run with a back injury, and the point totals from forwards take quite a dip after scoring leader Pavel Datsyuk. But at playoff time, every goal scored is a big one. And the Wings had plenty of clutch performances from Tomas Holmstrom, Dan Cleary, Mikael Samuelsson and Jiri Hudler. Kyle Calder found his offensive game after arriving from the Flyers, and the team will obviously look to Todd Bertuzzi to create space and scoring opportunities for his new teammates.

Scouting report: The biggest issue going into this season for the Flames was scoring goals, and the team addressed it well throughout their campaign. Alex Tanguay was a great addition up front, joining Jarome Iginla, Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow as the team's top four scorers with at least 70 points each. That's a huge improvement from last year, when no players hit the 70-point plateau at all. Strengthening the offence down the middle are centres Matthew Lombardi - who set career highs in goals and points - and Craig Conroy - who re-discovered his offensive touch after being re-acquired from the Kings in February. Team defence is something that hasn't been lost, with Wayne Primeau, Stephane Yelle and Marcus Nilson making up an effective checking line that can hold off the opposition at both ends of the ice. Dion Phaneuf is the cornerstone of the Flames' blueline, and leads the defence on the ice and the scoreboard. Roman Hamrlik has also enjoyed a fine season, putting up points on the power play and sitting among the team leaders in plus-minus. Robyn Regehr, Rhett Warrener, Mark Giordano and Brad Stuart all excel at keeping opposing forwards out of the Calgary zone. In goal, Miikka Kiprusoff is as good as any other money goalie out there.

Hate to pick on Lang again, but I see he has the third MOST GIVE-AWAYS in the NHL (DATSYK happens to have the most TAKE-AWAYS). LANG had a pretty good series last year against EDMONTON, one of the few Wings who produced. I have faith, but not blind faith. He's one forward who will have to repeat that against Calgary, or I'm afraid its going to be a short playoff run for the DETROIT this year.

Game 2 will be much more physical coming from the Flames... Watch for Phaneuf, Iginla, Warrner, Stuart... they're all going to go after the Europeans like Zetts and Dats. They're angry and so they may be inclined to make mistakes early. They're going to come out swinging like a kid who didn't take his ridilin...arms going like a windmill. It should be fun to see us duck around them and win another.

Keys for game 2: Continue to keep the Flames on their heals... Get Bertuzzi back to counter the physical onslaught that is sure to come. Get goals throughout the lines... Tire out the Flames 1st 2 lines.

What I like to see: Dom is looking good... Zetts looks healthy... People who aren't as likely to throw the body are laying people out.

I think the Wings played about as well as any of their fans could have hoped. They countered Calgary's hitting, didn't let the Flames get into their heads, and kept to their puck-control game plan.

I'd be shocked if the Flames didn't try to come out harder in Game Two. Hopefully that just means more penalties, they weren't exactly playing very disciplined tonight.

One thing I think really shows how the Flames let this get to them is how Iginla was trying to take on Zetterberg. He's got this reputation as such a big tough guy and he's trying to go at Zata? Was Fil not available? Iginla gets like that when he knows he's losing, we'll see if he gets back under control.

I think the Wings played about as well as any of their fans could have hoped. They countered Calgary's hitting, didn't let the Flames get into their heads, and kept to their puck-control game plan.I'd be shocked if the Flames didn't try to come out harder in Game Two. Hopefully that just means more penalties, they weren't exactly playing very disciplined tonight.One thing I think really shows how the Flames let this get to them is how Iginla was trying to take on Zetterberg. He's got this reputation as such a big tough guy and he's trying to go at Zata? Was Fil not available? Iginla gets like that when he knows he's losing, we'll see if he gets back under control.

I think it's kind of important getting under Iginla's skin. He'll make mistakes and implode. That's one of the main things...You see your captain implode, it's all down hill from there. That team is going to look toward a guy like Iginla for direction... how to feel.

Dominating game by the Wings --- Kudos for a well played game --- Comments regarding Iginla's behavior are on the mark. Calgary has had a problem in the past with penalties. The Wings should capitalize on this. The only way for the FLAMES to counter is to play the Wings' game, which they aren't capable of doing. The Wings' depth advantage will also play a factor this series. Calgary was lucky to get away with only a three goal deficit.

What's everyone's thoughts on game 2?MY Thoughts:Game 2 will be much more physical coming from the Flames... Watch for Phaneuf, Iginla, Warrner, Stuart... they're all going to go after the Europeans like Zetts and Dats. They're angry and so they may be inclined to make mistakes early. They're going to come out swinging like a kid who didn't take his ridilin...arms going like a windmill. It should be fun to see us duck around them and win another. Keys for game 2: Continue to keep the Flames on their heals... Get Bertuzzi back to counter the physical onslaught that is sure to come. Get goals throughout the lines... Tire out the Flames 1st 2 lines.What I like to see: Dom is looking good... Zetts looks healthy... People who aren't as likely to throw the body are laying people out.

Crucial will be PHYSICAL play by the WINGS to keep the FLAMES from gaining control of the game and knocking the WINGS off their stride. The WINGS must use their depth as an advantage. Winning face-offs and aggressive fore-check on the FLAME D are also key. Calgary will adapt. I'm not sure it will be a more physical play, or a 'trap' that tries to slow the WINGS down in the middle zone. No doubt Zetter and Dats will be targeted. This is where Bertuzzi, Franzen, Cleary, Calder, Maltby, and Lang (if he decides to) will come in to play with aggressive fore-checking.Not enough can be said about the Dominator winning games too.

I was just capturing video of the Datsyuk goal to post to the site later and decided to take some more looks at the Cleary-Kiprusoff hit.

By definition, it was goalie interference. Cleary didn't make an attempt to avoid Kiprusoff, instead he got his arms up to brace for impact. He could have thrown himself to the ice and out of the way. Kipper still dove, though.

I was just capturing video of the Datsyuk goal to post to the site later and decided to take some more looks at the Cleary-Kiprusoff hit.By definition, it was goalie interference. Cleary didn't make an attempt to avoid Kiprusoff, instead he got his arms up to brace for impact. He could have thrown himself to the ice and out of the way. Kipper still dove, though.Eh, I don't think it'll come back to bite the Wings.

Ya... That one was debatable... Kipprusoff definitely embellished on that hit... Cleary didn't make the move to avoid him in the first place... But the fact that Kippy dove into that hit should be the deciding factor... I don't think Cleary should have got the goalie interference penalty because Kippy dove into that one, but he definitely worked for the roughing and misconduct penalties...